Farm
bill: Still a little something for everyone [Associated Press]
There's
still a little something for everyone in massive farm bills that Congress is
considering this week, even though the legislation would cut billions of
dollars from federal farm and food subsidies….Each bill would eliminate $5
billion in annual direct payments that aren't tied to production or crop prices
and would consolidate other programs. At the same time, the bills would create
new programs with some of that money and raise the subsidies for some crops
while business is booming in the agricultural sector. Both bills would boost
federally subsidized crop insurance and a new program that covers smaller
losses on planted crops before crop insurance kicks in, favoring Midwestern
corn and soybean farmers who use crop insurance most often….The two bills are
further apart on domestic food aid.
Fight
to close California oyster farm divides community and gains national attention
[Yahoo! News]
It
is coming up on planting season at Drakes Bay Oyster Company, a tiny
family-owned oyster farm located on a inlet nestled within the lush grassy
cliffs that run along the Pacific Ocean here just north of San Francisco….But
the Lunny family, which purchased the farm in 2004, has been reluctant to begin
planning cultivation for future seasons because they aren’t sure they will be
here for much longer. For months, the Lunnys have been locked in an intense
legal fight to keep the Interior Department from closing their farm—a closely
watched case that heads before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San
Francisco on Tuesday. At issue is a decision made last November by
then-Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who declined to extend Drakes Bay’s
40-year-lease, which allowed it to operate on public land within the Point
Reyes National Seashore that was created decades after the oyster farm’s
inception.
Wildfire
risk runs high, but budget cuts mean fewer firefighters [Los Angeles Times]
The
drought that caused record wildfires in California and other Western states
last year is expected to persist through the summer, but fewer firefighters
will battle this year's blazes in other regions because of federal budget cuts,
top federal officials said Monday. The U.S. Forest Service will hire 500 fewer
firefighters this year, the result of "line by line" budget
reductions required by Congress, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a
conference call with reporters. The reduced staffing also means 50 fewer fire
engines will be available, Vilsack said. Vilsack and Interior Secretary Sally
Jewel said much of the West would face severe fire danger this
summer….California is expected to be the most imperiled of the dry Western
states….Because of the danger California is in, the Forest Service does not
plan to reduce hiring there, Harbour said. The reductions will more likely
affect Eastern states, where the danger is less serious this year.
Cattle
grazing can promote cheatgrass dominance, study finds [Los Angeles Times]
Ranchers
often argue that cattle grazing is the best way to combat cheatgrass, an
aggressive invader that has taken over vast areas of the Great Basin,
destroying the native sagebrush ecosystem and fueling huge wildfires. But a
study published today in the Journal of Applied Ecology arrives at the opposite
conclusion. Reseachers who studied 75 Great Basin sites invaded by cheatgrass
found that greater grazing intensity promoted the alien’s spread…. Management
of cheatgrass-invaded land, most of which is owned by the federal government,
is an ongoing point of contention. Ranchers who lease public land for livestock
grazing complain about grazing restrictions, while conservationists argue the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management has allowed too much grazing.
Editorial: Soybeans and the
Spirit of Invention [New York Times]
Farmers
who buy Monsanto’s Roundup Ready seeds have to sign a license agreement that
prohibits them from saving seeds from the crop for replanting. Mr. Bowman,
however, argued that he had the right to plant and save any seeds, including
Roundup Ready seeds, purchased from the grain elevator without following
Monsanto’s rules, because the company could no longer control use of seeds once
they were sold to the grain elevator….The United States Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit upheld a ruling against Mr. Bowman for patent infringement.
The justices properly affirmed that ruling and the principle that a farmer
cannot reproduce patented seeds without permission of the patent-holder.
Editorial: New runoff rules
impossible to meet [San Diego Union-Tribune]
We’re
all for clean water — who isn’t? — but the San Diego Regional Water Quality
Control Board, as many had feared, went too far last week when it adopted
sweeping new standards for stormwater runoff.
The
new rules, contained in a permit, operate under a harsh by-the-numbers
approach. They limit bacteria in the water to the same levels observed in the
undeveloped central California watershed — a goal that’s impossible to meet in
an urban environment….It’s another example of what has been a hallmark of
environmental legislation in California: establish unrealistic standards, set
impossible deadlines, and then if those standards aren’t met in time, fine the
violators….Not only are the new requirements impossible to meet, but there also
is little scientific evidence they’ll improve the health of humans or wildlife.
Ag
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